Baltimore food challenges [Pictures]

Calories: 7093 Total fat: 393g The warm, friendly Chick and Ruth's Delly in Annapolis seems like the last place you would find a gut-busting food challenge. The Man vs. Food Challenge ($28) is a stomach-stretching adventure that pits a willing participant against a six-pound milkshake and a one-pound hamburger. If that sounds like a lot, you're right. It's made from a one-pound beef patty burger paired with 3/4 gallon of milkshake (your choice of flavor). Adam Richman, the "Man vs. Food" host, finished this challenge in 52 minutes, just under the 60 that the restaurant gives contestants. The record time for finishing this challenge is an unbelievable 6 minutes. Win, and you get a T-shirt and your photo posted on the restaurant's website. Anyone can try to finish this colossal amount of food, but eaters beware: They make everyone sign a waiver saying that if they hurl in the process of eating, they have to clean it up themselves.

Calories: 7093 Total fat: 393g The warm, friendly Chick and Ruth's Delly in Annapolis seems like the last place you would find a gut-busting food challenge. The Man vs. Food Challenge ($28) is a stomach-stretching adventure that pits a willing participant against a six-pound milkshake and a one-pound hamburger. If that sounds like a lot, you're right. It's made from a one-pound beef patty burger paired with 3/4 gallon of milkshake (your choice of flavor). Adam Richman, the "Man vs. Food" host, finished this challenge in 52 minutes, just under the 60 that the restaurant gives contestants. The record time for finishing this challenge is an unbelievable 6 minutes. Win, and you get a T-shirt and your photo posted on the restaurant's website. Anyone can try to finish this colossal amount of food, but eaters beware: They make everyone sign a waiver saying that if they hurl in the process of eating, they have to clean it up themselves. (John Houser III, Baltimore Sun)

While ordering my burger, I was told I should get it plain if I want to beat the challenge. I ordered lettuce, tomato, raw onions and cheese (because I laugh in the face of danger). Shortly after, I was asked to sign a waiver stating that I should go to a rest room before getting sick and, above all, have fun. When my food arrived about 10 minutes later, my server announced over the restaurant's PA system that I was about to start the Man vs. Food Challenge. Until then, I wasn't too excited, but I have to admit -- that introduction got me pumped up in a WWE sort of way. I was ready to suplex this challenge. The juicy, medium-rare burger tasted really good, and paired well with my comically large shake (I went with strawberry). My adrenaline was pumping, and my competitive nature took over. Anyone who couldn't eat this little amount of food should be ashamed of themselves. About 15 minutes in, the burger was almost gone, and I'd finished 10 percent of the shake, but I was still confident. The shake was so large, I had to bring it down beside me in my booth. It was like drinking out of a giant chalice. My chewing time between swallows went up considerably, and I started to sweat. With one strawberry swallow, I finished the solid food portion. Sweet victory would be mine. A few minutes later, 3/4 of my shake remained, and I started getting the feeling that between drinks, when I wasn't looking, someone was filling it back up. One pound of meat was too much all at once. My shake looked four times bigger than when I started. Almost 35 minutes after I first dug in, I called it quits. I was having a little trouble breathing, and it was hard for me to stand up to pay the check. Luckily, I made it to the car without hurling. I am a professional after all. At home, I crashed and waited for death. Unmercifully, it didnt come. Looking back, I realize how foolish I was to think I could finish that food challenge. All I want to do is punch my stomach in the face. --John Houser III

While ordering my burger, I was told I should get it plain if I want to beat the challenge. I ordered lettuce, tomato, raw onions and cheese (because I laugh in the face of danger). Shortly after, I was asked to sign a waiver stating that I should go to a rest room before getting sick and, above all, have fun. When my food arrived about 10 minutes later, my server announced over the restaurant's PA system that I was about to start the Man vs. Food Challenge. Until then, I wasn't too excited, but I have to admit -- that introduction got me pumped up in a WWE sort of way. I was ready to suplex this challenge. The juicy, medium-rare burger tasted really good, and paired well with my comically large shake (I went with strawberry). My adrenaline was pumping, and my competitive nature took over. Anyone who couldn't eat this little amount of food should be ashamed of themselves. About 15 minutes in, the burger was almost gone, and I'd finished 10 percent of the shake, but I was still confident. The shake was so large, I had to bring it down beside me in my booth. It was like drinking out of a giant chalice. My chewing time between swallows went up considerably, and I started to sweat. With one strawberry swallow, I finished the solid food portion. Sweet victory would be mine. A few minutes later, 3/4 of my shake remained, and I started getting the feeling that between drinks, when I wasn't looking, someone was filling it back up. One pound of meat was too much all at once. My shake looked four times bigger than when I started. Almost 35 minutes after I first dug in, I called it quits. I was having a little trouble breathing, and it was hard for me to stand up to pay the check. Luckily, I made it to the car without hurling. I am a professional after all. At home, I crashed and waited for death. Unmercifully, it didnt come. Looking back, I realize how foolish I was to think I could finish that food challenge. All I want to do is punch my stomach in the face. --John Houser III (John Houser III, Baltimore Sun)

Hungry for a challenge? Of course you are. This is America, after all, where everything is bigger and better -- until it isn't. Restaurants have long offered food challenges, from impossibly enormous steaks to milkshakes big enough to drown in. You know the drill: Clean your plate in a certain time and keep it down long enough to leave the restaurant and you get a free meal, your name on the wall -- maybe even a year's worth of free food. But in the past few years, food challenges have become even more epic, thanks in no small part to the hit TV show "Man vs. Food." In that spirit, we tried five challenges in and around Baltimore, including the Fat Boy burger at Chewy's, a colossal burrito at El Hidalgo in Elkridge and a giant milkshake -- which was featured on the show -- at Chick and Ruth's in Annapolis. And, to add insult to injury, we had nutritionist Jodie Shield estimate the total number of calories and fat in each. Gulp. Let the hunger games begin.--b staff